Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. I’ve been quietly working on a pretty awesome project the past few weeks – something you’ll hear more about VERY VERY soon too. Eee, it’s so exciting!!

Anyhow, since I’ve been knee-deep in working on that project plus all the mom-life stuff like baby-proofing my house from top to bottom (my little dude is on the cusp of learning to crawl), I haven’t gotten to writing up any new stuff for you this week.

But! I was looking back through the archives, and there is a TON of stuff that I want to share with you – great posts you very likely haven’t seen before, so here’s a little roundup of some past favorites. Get comfy on the couch, grab a cup of coffee, and dig in!

The Power of Juicing – find out a little bit more about juicing, if it’s worth it and the many benefits of it.

It surprises people to learn that I discovered my food intolerances a few years ago just by doing tons and tons of trial and error and elimination diets.

One of the questions I get asked the most is about how I conducted my own elimination diet to determine my own food intolerances of gluten and dairy – and now further, other foods like eggs, almonds, and hazelnuts (which I hope to someday bring back into my diet).

It’s easy for me to write about my experience now, because it was so far in the past, but when I was in the thick of it – it was HARD.

I was desperate for relief. And I felt so defeated by the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to eat so many of my favorite foods anymore. I had such a hard time coming around to the idea that my life was going to forever be different if I actually embraced this lifestyle.

And now that I’m through it, and I have a nice little list of things that I do eat and don’t eat – well, it doesn’t feel nearly as hard on a day to day basis.

Sure, I miss some things – like real ice cream or pizza on Friday nights. But overall, the fact that I feel so much better in my body makes all the difference.

So how did I do it? How did I conduct my elimination diets that lead me to go gluten and dairy-free?

Here are the 6 easy steps to conduct an elimination diet:

1. Start keeping a food journal.

You can start with a few days or a few weeks – whatever really feels right to you. Just write down what you eat and when.

Then as you make your way through the day, if you notice any weird symptoms (like brain fog or headaches), you can write down when you start to feel them.

This isn’t AT ALL about judging your food choices. I know many people think that food journals are a way to make you super aware of what you’re eating and it brings up all kinds of shame – but don’t do that.

Just write down what you eat – and be honest about it. Your body will thank you later.

2. Look for patterns between symptoms and foods.

Notice that you always get headaches after eating bread? Or find yourself constipated three days after having milk?

Look for any obvious patterns that emerge and take note. It might not be as obvious as you’d like it to be. And if it isn’t – that’s okay. Just keep tracking until you start to get an idea as to what foods are triggering your symptoms. [Read more…]

To be honest, I have never had one and don’t know much about them at all.

I do know that they come around this time of year, are glowingly green, are mint flavored, and are not the best thing in the world for you.

I also know that they’re made from a base of milk and soft serve ice cream.

It sounds delicious, but also like a bloat-fest and extra trips to the bathroom waiting to happen for me.

I also know this is the time of year where Girl Scouts are berating you every time you enter or exit a store – or in my case, knocking on my door.

Even though they’re adorable and I should be supporting their cause (my husband would GLADLY support any cause that involved cookies!), I know that if I were to be tempted by a box of Thin Mints, I wouldn’t be able to open the box without eating the entire sleeve. And again, I don’t want to feel like crap for a few days just for a bunch of cookies.

So this week, I took a cue from the good ol’ Shamrock Shake and the Thin Mints that would both completely do me in – and made myself a nice healthy Franken-smoothie instead. [Read more…]